Typhoon Q500, a 4K Camera Drone

The Yuneec Typhoon Q500 is a 4K drone that can fly for as long as 25 minutes on a full battery charge. The camera is detachable and if you want to proceed with handheld shooting, you can do so through a Steady Grip mounting device which is included in the package.

Although the DJI Phantom series is more popular, electric aviation specialist Yuneec International hopes to grab a little share in the drone market with their Typhoon Q500.

While the Q500 is not the most popular choice in the market, it is the most advanced given its price. Also, the drone offers much more than just filming video in 4K – there’s so much more that make it a worthwhile investment.

The Q500 weighs 3.75 pounds and on its longest side measures 22 inches. Apart from proving a full 25 minute flight time, the drone is also equipped with a low-battery return home feature – which is a great feature to have. Drone videographers wouldn’t want to retrieve their drones far from the point of origin, and luckily Yuneec included this return to starting point feature for their drone.

In addition to the return to home feature, the Q500 4K drone is also equipped with a FAA No Fly Feature. This just means that it won’t ever enter a no-fly zone. In other words, you’re safe from questioning by authorities as the drone recognizes that it shouldn’t be within the area.

Other features of the Q500 drone is the “Follow Me” (in this mode, your drone can track your movements from the air) and “Watch Me” flight functions. Both offer dynamic settings for shooting video while in the air.

With regards to cruising ability, Yuneec’s Typhoon Q500 can cruise at speeds of up to eight meters a second and up to 400 feet off the ground.

Of course, the most important feature of the Typhoon Q500 is its Three-Axis Gimbal CGO3 4K camera which has an optimized fixed focus lens. With a 115-degree wide angle lens, which is roughly equivalent to a 14mm lens on a full-frame camera system, the Typhoon sets itself apart from the Phantom 3 camera from DJI. Although the Q500 camera has a wide view, barrel distortion is just at the minimum. In other words, the footage you shoot won’t have that fisheye look.

In addition to being able to take 4K video at 30 fps, the Typhoon Q500 4K is also capable of capturing 12 megapixel still images. The file formats the camera captures images in are in Raw DNG and JPG. The Q500 can also take still photos while recording video footage.

Also, all the media shot with the drone camera is compatible with the CGO3 iPhone and Android app for real-time video transmission. The controller itself is advanced and complete with a touchscreen camera interface.

Although marketed as a 4K camera, the Q500 is also capable of capturing footage at 1080p and up to 120 fps. This can be converted to a much more reasonable frame rate with the use of editing software so that a slow-motion effect is achieved.

There are a number of safety features included with the Typhoon Q500 drone. Apart from the return to home function in the event of a low battery and its awareness of designated no-fly zones, the drone also supports geo-fencing which is basically limiting the flight to a set area.

In terms of looks, the Typhoon Q500 has a sci-fi look about it.

Yuneec’s Typhoon Q500 4K system is already available for pre-order with a price range starting at $1299. Shipments for the product will begin in mid-July.